Dental Cleaning, Why Bother?

Dr. Michael's19 November 2013 5383

Because good teeth and gums are a great indicator of overall health and well-being, that’s why.

The mouth is like a barometer to our health. If your lips are dry or flaky this usually means you are dehydrated. The easy solution – drink more water. If you suffer from Apthos ulcers regularly this may mean you are low in some vital vitamins or minerals or just run down. These are all early signs you can read from your mouth and act on them to improve your health.

Another very important warning sign is bleeding gums. This is perhaps the most common sign that many people choose to ignore. If your arm bled every time you washed it, I am pretty sure you would do something about it. Look at it this way: Healthy gums don’t bleed!

You can help your mouth and your general health by allowing a dental hygienist to flush through the difficult to reach areas in your mouth we can help keep you motivated with your flossing and give you helpful tips on your oral hygiene routine because we all need a little motivation every now and then to keep us on the right track. We normally advise, to keep your mouth healthy for life, to visit a dental hygienist minimum of every six months.

The main reason why our gums bleed is because of a build-up of plaque bacteria (the soft yellow stuff on our teeth) or a build-up of calculus (the hard yellow or brown stuff on our teeth).

We can also help prevent gums from receding, teeth becoming loose, bad breath, brown or yellow stained teeth and general discomfort in the mouth.

The main reason why our gums bleed is because of a build-up of plaque bacteria (the soft yellow stuff on our teeth) or a build-up of calculus (the hard yellow or brown stuff on our teeth). Both of these contain hundreds and hundreds of harmful bacteria which can’t wait to attack your gums and get into your blood stream thus affecting other areas of the body, your heart, or an unborn baby.

There’s a lot of media hype surrounding teeth whitening or teeth bleaching which does have its place but sometimes a good dental hygiene visit and polish up is all you might need to be really happy with your teeth. So they become cleaner, healthier and whiter.